


Still Untitled Stony Project

by Cliophilyra



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, I'm not sure where this is going, M/M, Rating will probably change, Repost - sorry!, more tags to be added later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 06:34:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17381447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cliophilyra/pseuds/Cliophilyra
Summary: Tony has come to a startling realization. Well, startling for him but apparently not for anyone else. The question is, what to do next...





	Still Untitled Stony Project

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry, I deleted this and re-posted because I realized I wanted to completely change the chapter ending. I am an idiot.
> 
> So, as mentioned before. This is my first Stony and I really loved writing it but I'm not sure where I am going with it next. Comments, suggestions and answers on a postcard (or in the comments) would be much appreciated! 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it!

Tony was at his workbench surrounded by wires and components when he realized. He had been in the middle of losing an argument with JARVIS about tensile strengths. As he shoved his hands through his hair in frustration he glanced over to where Steve sat on the couch in the corner of the room. Rogers’ seemed to be entirely focused on sketching DUM-E who was posing as a sort of not-so-still life. _I love him._ At first Tony barely registered the thought, just turned back to his holographic screens. Then he stopped, one hand in the air, and slowly looked back at Steve. There it was again; a warmth that seemed to live deep inside his chest, an involuntary fond smile. _Holy shit._

When did that happen and why was he not informed? How could his heart be off making important decisions like this without consulting him?

Apparently sensing a lapse in his attention JARVIS said, “Sir?” and Tony panicked. 

“I-- I gotta go. JARVIS save these and--” he got up quickly, throat dry, heart racing and left the room without finishing the sentence.

Steve looked up in surprise and opened his mouth to speak, but Tony was already gone.

***

Tony retired to the penthouse as quickly as possible, poured himself a drink with a hand that shook annoyingly and downed half of it in one gulp.

“Are you alright Sir?” JARVIS asked. 

Tony sighed and took another, smaller sip of whiskey. “Not really,” he admitted, although he had definitely meant to say yes.

“Your heart rate is elevated. Should I summon Doctor Banner?”

“No!”

“How can I be of assistance Sir?” JARVIS tried, sounding faintly exasperated in a way that he shouldn’t be able to but frequently did.

“I’m in love with Steve,” Tony blurted out.

“Yes Sir.”

“What do you mean ‘yes sir’? That isn’t a yes sir kind of statement.”

“No Sir.”

“Stop being facetious JARVIS. This is serious.”

“I’m sorry Sir, I was not aware that this was new information.”

Tony clutched at his head. He could feel a headache coming on and he was obviously missing part of this conversation. “How the hell can it not be new information? It’s new to me!”

“Ah.”

“’Ah’ he says. Yes ah! Ah I am in love with Captain fucking America JARVIS,” he closed his eyes for a moment then squinted up at the ceiling. “Are you saying you already knew?”

“Well yes sir.”

“How?!”

“There is a marked increase in your heart rate when you are in the presence of Captain Rogers, your pupils dilate when you look at him, you smile and laugh up to 65% more in his company. You show more awareness of him and his condition in battle than you do the other members of the team. You touch him up to 80% more frequently than other people with whom you are friends. You--”

“--Alright! Enough, I get it. Did you not think to mention any of this to me?”

There was a silence that somehow sounded incredulous and then JARVIS replied. “I apologize Sir, I did not consider the possibility that you were not cognizant of the situation,” he said, sarcasm dripping off the words.

“Well what do I do now!?” Tony asked, silently hating himself for soliciting relationship advice from an AI.

“That rather depends on what you want to do Sir.”

“Fuck!”

There was a short pause and then, “I see. Well in that case Sir I--”

“Not what I meant JARVIS!” he said quickly before the conversation can head off in a direction that would require a lot more alcohol. “I meant fuck in the sense of ‘I am fucked’.

“What is it that you wish to achieve Sir?”

“I don’t know! I want-- I want--”

“Do you wish to tell Captain Rogers of your feelings?”

“No! Yes! I don’t know--” he dropped his head onto the marble topped bar with a satisfying thunk. “What if-- he doesn’t-- um...”

“If you are concerned that the Captain doesn’t reciprocate your feelings I would venture to suggest that that is unlikely to be the case Sir.”

Tony looked up, startled. “What!?”

“My data suggests that he shares your feelings of attraction Sir. I have observed that his responses to you are along the same lines as those I outlined a moment ago.”

“You are shitting me.”

“No sir, I am not ‘shitting you’.”

“So he likes me too?”

“I cannot say that for certain Sir, only that the data currently supports that hypothesis.”

“This is not an experiment JARVIS!”

“No sir.”

“Oh god I suck at this. Why do I suck at this!”

“I wouldn’t say that sir, your previous success rate with seduction has been--”

“--I don’t want to seduce him JARVIS!”

“No sir? My apologies, I clearly misunderstood.”

“This is not some...some...This is not that!” he finishes lamely.

“Captain Rogers is approaching the door Sir.”

“Oh great.” Tony dropped his head back onto the bar and took a deep breath then straightened up, threw back the rest of the whiskey and squared his shoulders just as the door buzzer went off. “Could you tell him I’m out? Or dead? Could you tell him I’m dead?”

“I’m sorry Sir, I have already informed him that you are in.”

“Traitor.” Tony gave the finger to the room in general and opened the door to find Steve standing on the threshold looking concerned. Tony noticed his eyes flick to the empty tumbler in his hand and fought a strong urge to hide it behind his back. “What’s up Cap?” he asked with a forced smile.

Steve frowned. “I was going to ask you that,” he said. “You shot out of the workshop like your ass was on fire.”

Tony laughed unconvincingly. “I just...remembered. That I have...a...thing.”

“A thing?”

“A-- meeting?”

“Okaay. And you’re drinking because...”

“I hate meetings.”

Steve nodded slowly and looked around him into the room as if he expected to see something nefarious going on in the background. “Can I come in?” he asked.

Tony swallowed nervously. “N—yes. I guess.”

Steve frowned at him again and walked into the room. Tony stood awkwardly, spinning the empty glass in his fingers. Steve walked up to the huge window that made up one whole wall and looked out at the city.

“I can never get over this view,” he said. His soft awed smile and the way he pressed his nose against the glass made Tony’s stomach do a stupid little flip thing. Then he looked down, taking in rest of Steve, the broad shoulders and ludicrous biceps, his slim waist and oh-my-god-his-ass. The little sigh he let out was entirely involuntary. Steve turned around, looking adorably confused. No. Not adorable. He’s a grown – very grown – man, he is not adorable. Tony felt the tips of his ears heat up and looked away, clearing his throat loudly.

“Tony are you sure you’re alright?” Steve asked, sounding genuinely concerned. He stepped closer and put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. Tony looked up at him and saw, all of a sudden, exactly what JARVIS had apparently already noted. Steve’s pupils were wide and black, his eyes soft, his lips curved slightly and there was a tiny crease of concern on his brow. His tongue darted out to lick his lips and Tony was instantly desperate to know what those lips felt like. He was right, JARVIS was right; once you paid proper attention, it was surprisingly clear that, for some reason he couldn’t for the life of him work out, Captain America was in love with him.

“Um I have to go now Cap. I’ll catch you later,” he said and ducked away from Steve’s grip.

The other man looked completely blind-sided. He blinked and then ducked his head, hiding the obvious blush that pinked his cheeks then looked up and nodded smartly. “Sure Stark,” he said and almost marched out of the door.

Tony stood in the middle of the room and wished for death.

“Shit JARVIS.”

“Indeed Sir.”

***

In an all-out effort to avoid his workshop, the team, and especially Steve, Tony has begun to avoid communal spaces, team activities and all but the most mechanical and professional interactions in the field. Instead he threw himself into the business of Stark Industries with an enthusiasm that bordered on the maniacal. He attended meetings, schmoozed shareholders, wrote long reports and signed piles of things that needed signing. After nearly two weeks of this Pepper was on the verge of having him assassinated just so she could get on with some work uninterrupted. She was fairly sure this was one of those ‘be careful what you wish for’ sorts of lessons.

“What is wrong with him?” she exclaimed aloud once everyone had left the boardroom after a particularly long and tedious meeting made longer and more tedious by Tony’s ‘pertinent’ questions and ‘insightful’ suggestions.

“Ms Potts?” JARVIS asked, with a note of confused innocence that didn’t fool her for a minute.

“Tony. What is up with him?” she asked again, “Why is he being so...professional?”

“Ma’am? I was under the impression that you had frequently expressed a wish for Sir to be more professional?”

“Yes, well. More fool me. Anyway, when has he ever done what I want?”

JARVIS stayed tactfully silent.

“It’s unnerving. He keeps making meetings longer. He has ideas and questions,” she said, aware that she may have sounded a tiny bit unhinged. “Is there any chance he could be a LMD?” she sighs finally.

“I don’t believe so Ma’am.”

“Then what in the Sam hell is going on?!”

There is a long pause and then JARVIS said, “There is a possibility that he is endeavoring to avoid Captain Rogers.”

Pepper blinked in surprise. “Steve? Why? What has he done to Steve?” she asked suspiciously.

“Nothing, that I am aware of ma’am,” JARVIS replied with a hint of reproach that almost made her laugh.

“Ok, sorry. So, why would you think he is hiding from Steve?”

“Sir recently became cognizant of some...information about Captain Rogers which has caused him a certain amount of...consternation.”

Pepper raised an elegant eyebrow. “Oh really? What information might that be?”

“I don’t believe I am at liberty to reveal that at this time.”

Pepper tapped her long, buff-colored nails on the screen of her StarkPad and hummed thoughtfully. “Is this information of a professional or personal nature?” she asked carefully, deciding she was fully prepared to play twenty questions with a computer to get to the bottom of this nonsense. Somehow though, she didn’t think she would need all twenty.

“I believe I would categorize it as personal.”

“And would this be the kind of information that might not come as a complete surprise to most people who know them both?”

“It is possible that some people of their mutual acquaintance may already be aware of it, yes.”

Pepper drummed her fingernails harder on the glass. “I see,” she said. She gathered up her belongings and stood. “Right. Thank you JARVIS, I’ll take it from here.”

“Thank you Ms Potts.”

If she hadn’t known better Pepper might have detected a hint of relief in the AI’s tone.

*** 

The clicking of Pepper’s heels on the concrete floor was just audible even over the music Tony was trying to deafen himself with. He looked up in annoyance. “JARVIS! I said no one in unless it’s an emergency.”

“It is an emergency Tony. If you don’t speak to me now someone is going to die,” Pepper snapped.

“Who? What’s happening?”

“You! Because I will kill you,” Pepper said, jabbing him in the chest with a nail. 

“What have I done now?”

“You are being weird and…responsible.”

“Responsible? My god, how could I? I apologize unreservedly.”

“Shut up. You know what I mean. You are attending meetings and filing reports and…and you’re not even late!” She sighed. “What’s wrong Tony?” she asked, more softly.

“Why do people keep asking me that?”

“Because it’s weird and wrong and you’re freaking them out.”

“Nothing’s wrong! I’m turning over a new leaf?”

“That’s a load of crap and you know it. You’re avoiding him.”

Tony swallows guiltily. “What? Who? No I’m not.”

“Nice try, very smooth. You’re avoiding Steve.”

“What the hell gave you that idea?” Tony asks, glancing balefully upwards. “Who could possibly have suggested that?”

“This is not JARVIS’s fault.”

“Aha!” Tony exclaimed, pointing up. “Traitor!”

“Tony! Just because you are phenomenally slow on the uptake doesn’t mean you can take your nonsense out on the rest of us. I have a company to run and, although I will concede that I have, in the past complained that you don’t pay enough attention to said company, it turns out that too much attention is a massive pain in all of our asses. Therefore,” she continued, holding up a hand when Tony looked like he might like to add something. “Therefore, you will pull your head out of your ass and go and talk to him. Now. Is that clear?”

“And say what?! Where do I even start? I don’t know if--“

“Is that clear?” Pepper repeated, shoving him bodily towards the door.

Tony stumbled into the corridor, muttering about how he is technically in charge here, and walked straight into Steve Rogers’ chest. Steve looked down in confusion as Tony reached out to right himself and landed a hand squarely on his left pec. “Um…hi?”

“Ah, there you are,” Tony said, clearing his throat and attempting to look as if he wasn’t just groping Steve’s chest. He glanced over Steve’s shoulder back into the workshop to where Pepper was scowling at him through the glass and making threatening gestures. He raised an eyebrow and sighed. “Would you…Do you?…Food? With me I mean. Tonight?”

Steve looked puzzled for a moment, for which Tony couldn’t entirely blame him when he considered the drivel he had just blurted at him. He felt the remains of his confidence slowly ebbing away as he looked up at Steve’s confused frown. He cleared his throat, attempting to recover some semblance of poise. “I mean, you know, if you’re free. No problem if you’re busy. It’s fine. Some other time maybe?” he clapped what he hoped was a casual hand on Steve’s shoulder and walked past him, heading for the elevator and escape. 

“Tonight sounds good.”

Tony stopped and slowly looked back to see Steve grinning, arms folded over his chest.

**Author's Note:**

> So what did you think? Please comment, I love comments!


End file.
